Use of a communication system through which to communicate data is a practical necessity of modern society. Data is communicated pursuant to the effectuation of many varied types of communication services. And, with continued advancements in communication technologies, additional types of communication services, making use of the advancements in communication technologies, are possible.
A communication system includes at least a first communication station and a second communication station interconnected by way of a communication channel. Data is communicated by the first communication station, referred to as a sending station, to the second communication station, referred to as a receiving station, by way of the communication channel. Data that is to be communicated by the sending station is converted, if needed, into a form to permit the data to be communicated upon the communication channel. And, the receiving station detects the data communicated upon the communication channel and recovers the informational content thereof.
A radio communication system is a type of communication system. In a radio communication system, a radio channel, defined upon a radio air interface, forms the communication channel interconnecting the sending and receiving stations. Conventional wireline communication systems, in contrast, require the use of fixed, wireline connections extending between the communications stations upon which to define the communication channel.
A radio communication system provides various advantages in contrast to a wireline counterpart. Initial installation and deployment costs associated with a radio communication system are generally less than the costs required to install and deploy a corresponding wireline communication system. And, a radio communication system can be implemented as a mobile communication system in which one or more of the communication stations operable therein is permitted mobility.
A cellular communication system is an exemplary type of mobile radio communication system. Cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant portion of the populated areas of the world and have achieved wide levels of usage. A cellular radio communication system is a multi-user communication system in which radio communications are provided with a plurality of mobile stations. Telephonic communication of voice and data is effectuable by way of the mobile stations. Mobile stations are sometimes of sizes to permit their convenient carriage by users of the mobile stations.
A cellular radio communication system includes network infrastructure that is installed throughout the geographical area that is encompassed by the communication system. Mobile stations operable in the cellular communication system communicate, by way of radio channels, with base stations that form parts of the network infrastructure of the communication system.
Base stations are a fixed-site radio transceiver that transceives data with the mobile stations. The base stations are installed at spaced-apart locations throughout the geographical area encompassed by the communication system. Each of the base stations defines a cell, formed of a portion of the geographical area. A cellular communication system is so-called because of the cells that together define the coverage area of the communication system.
When a mobile station is positioned within a cell defined by a base station, communications are generally effectuable with the base station that defines the cell. Due to the inherit mobility of a mobile station, the mobile station might travel between cells defined by different ones of the base stations. Continued communications with the mobile station is provided through communication hand off procedures between successive ones of the base stations defining the successive ones of the cells through which the mobile station passes. Through appropriate positioning of the base stations, the mobile station, wherever positioned within the area encompassed by the communication system, shall be within communication proximity of at least one base station.
Only relatively low-powered signals need to be generated to effectuate communications between a mobile station and a base station when the base stations are suitably positioned at selected spaced-apart locations. Hand-offs of communications between the successive base stations permit continued communications without necessitating increases in the power levels at which the communication signals are transmitted. And, because the signals that are generated are all generally of low powered levels, the same radio channels can be reused at different locations of the cellular communication system. The frequency spectrum allocated to a cellular communication system is thereby efficiently utilized.
A cellular communication system is constructed, generally, to be operable pursuant to an operating specification of a particular communication standard. Successive generations of communication standards have been developed, and operating specifications defining their operational parameters have been promulgated. First-generation and second-generation cellular communication systems have been deployed and have achieved significant levels of usage. Third-generation and successor-generation systems are undergoing development, standardization, and, at least with respect to the third-generation systems, partial deployment.
An exemplary third-generation cellular communication system is a system that operates pursuant to the operating protocol set forth in a CDMA 2000 operating specification. A CDMA 2000 cellular communication system, constructed in conformity with the CDMA 2000 operating specification, provides for packet-based data communication services.
Various technology proposals by which to effectuate communication of packet data at high data rates in a CDMA 2000 communication system have been proposed. By transmitting data at high data rates, increased amounts of data are able to be communicated in a given time period.
The 1xEV-DV data communication service is one such proposal. The 1xEV-DV data service utilizes a HARQ (Hybrid-ARQ) acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback scheme. A 1xEV-DV communication service is also available at multiple data rates. That is to say, the data rates at which the data is communicated are selectable.
Control provisions by which to control the data rate of uplink data, i.e., data communicated by a mobile station to the network infrastructure of a CDMA 2000 communication system, are not set forth in the operating specification. That is to say, generally, there is no provision for controlling the data rate, and HARQ operations, to facilitate scheduling of data communications on the uplink.
A mechanism by which to facilitate uplink scheduling of data communicated pursuant to a 1xEV-DV communication service is needed.
It is in light of this background information related to packet data communication services that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.